ULS on 2nd October hosted the Pro-Bono Board Members meeting which held a discussion on how best to implement the Pro-Bono Scheme.
In particular, they discussed the proposed amendments of the Pro-Bono Regulations.

A team from the Huddersfield Law Society in Uganda to train Advocates on Practice Management take a picture with the ULS CEO Joyce Nalunga and part of the ULS Management staff on 5 November 2018 at the ULS Secretariat. The Faculty is comprised of Ranjit Uppal, Ruth Coneron, Sunny Sandhu and Laura Milburn

ULS President Simon Peter M. Kinobe today 15 November 2018 hosted the Society past presidents to a luncheon at Kampala Serena Hotel. At the luncheon, the Presidents commended Hon. Justice Remmy Kasule on his exemplary service in the Court of Appeal & his service as godfather of Legal Aid in ULS and welcomed him back from the Bench.

On 15 August 2018 ULS together with the Judiciary, Uganda Bankers Association & Centre for Public Interest Law launched the UBA/ULS arbitration consultative process & presented appreciation awards to outstanding Judicial Officers of the 2017 Judicial Scorecard.

On 21 September 2018 the Judiciary organised an Inaugural Ben Kiwanuka Memorial Lecture to commemorate Uganda's first Chief Justice H/W Benedicto kiwanuka, who served in that position from June 27th 1971 - September 22 1972 when he was dragged out of his chambers by then President Idi Amin's soldiers never to be seen again till this date. The keynote speaker was former CJ Justice Wako Wambuzi. The event was graced by high level dignitaries including the Vice President, Chief Justice, Deputy Chief justice, Minister of Justice and constitutional Affairs Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, ULS President Simon Peter kinobe, his Vice President Pheona Wall, past ULS presidents, members of the Diplomatic community Judicial officers and advocates.

On Friday 19th October 2018, ULS held the 11th Annual Rule of Law Symposium with a theme: Youth Participation in Good Governance, Law and Democracy: Confronting the Bottlenecks. The Keynote speaker was retired diplomat and Rwandan genocide survivor Mr. James Luyimba-Miti. The Symposium took place at Imperial Royale Hotel from 2pm to 5pm.

ULS in conjunction with UN Women and the Swedish Embassy in Uganda organised a National Dialogue on Justice for Women and Girls in Uganda on the 6th of December 2018 at Hotel Africana, Kampala. The Symposium was organised to bring stakeholders from Government, Civil Society, Academia and Community at large to discuss issues relating to Access to Justice for women and girls facing Gender Based Violence in Uganda. The Chief Guest was the Principal Judge Justice Yorokamu Bamwine.

President's Message

Greetings from the Executive Council, Management and staff of the Uganda Law Society.

I bring you warm greetings from our great Society and I hope that you are all well. I would like to take this opportunity to bring to your attention certain issues that are critical to our Society:

1. CLEThe CLE Calendar year is almost coming to a close and as you are aware Law Council made a resolution two years ago that there will be no remedial courses, save in extremely exceptional circumstances. Efforts to request for leniency this year and to have that rule set aside have not been successful. We have therefore scaled up and conducted several CLEs to enable members to comply with the CLE requirement. Kindly note that the Law Council together with the Judiciary and various government sectors have notified us of the intention to put in place mechanisms to protect the profession. These efforts, which include the enforcement of requirements such as practicing certificates and approval of chambers will be scaled up in the coming year. I have requested Doreen Atukunda our Head of Members Affairs to share/circulate the list of the remaining CLE events along with the compliance report.

2. The Uganda Law Society HouseThe fundraising drive is on course and I would like to thank those members that have given towards the construction of the ULS House. Every contribution counts. Also, thanks to the generosity of one of our members, we procured a demolition order and a company to commence with site clearance works which are under way and should be concluded soon. I would like to reiterate the importance of the ULS House project and to remind everyone that this is a legacy issue not only for the Society but for each one of us individually. Therefore, every lawyer’s input is paramount for this dream to become a reality.

3. Laying of the Foundation StoneThis event shall take place on 14th December 2018 starting at 9am under the theme, “My House, Your House, Our House.”This event shall attract 2 points. Please turn up in large numbers and be a part of history. We shall have delegates from all over the Africa and should make ourselves available as the hosts.

4. Annual Law Dinner / Fundraising DinnerThe theme for our end of year Annual Law Dinner is “Building a Legacy with the ULS House”. The cards are ready and the dinner shall be held on the 14th December 2018 at 6pm at Serena Hotel, Kampala.The dinner shall attract 5 CLE points and shall be attended by our partners in the Justice Law and Order Sector along with the friends of the Uganda Law Society such as the business community. I therefore request that we as the hosts attend in large numbers to make our guests comfortable. Cards for the dinner are being sold at UGX 300,000/= and can be delivered to you or obtained from the Secretariat. Part of the proceeds shall go towards the construction of the ULS house.

5. Latest in the Law SeriesThe series continue to be a vital element in legal practice as they inform us of the latest trends and developments in the legal profession. In the recent past, the series were briefly interrupted by the relocation of the Secretariat to Ntinda. However, it is now my pleasure to report that the ULS has been offered the gardens of Roots restaurant to conduct the law series at no cost. I would like to express my gratitude to Sarah Nakibuuka for this kind gesture and as well as thank Phillip Karugaba for taking the initiative and lead on this.

6. The AwardsUganda Law Society has had a good history of granting awards to outstanding Advocates/ personalities. However, this has not happened this year. On the 22nd of October 2018, I regrettably informed you of the postponement of the Women in Law Awards Dinner that had been scheduled for the 26th of October 2018, due to reasons given in my communication. The membership had over time raised many questions regarding the criteria of the awards of Uganda Law Society. We as Council therefore found it prudent to re-evaluate the criteria and come up with one acceptable and built on international best practices for awards. This re-evaluation was important to ensure that our awards do not lose their noble purpose but mostly to ensure that they are not riddled with conflict.The Executive Council and the Female Lawyers Committee have now come up with a criteria that will enable us fulfill the above objective. We shall therefore have our Women in Law Awards Dinner on 7th March 2019. We shall also have our Annual Law Awards during the Annual Law Conference. Additionally, Council shall award advocates that have gone out of their way to serve Society for no gain.

I thank you all for your continued engagement with the ULS and look forward to your continued support.

#BuildingBridges

Yours Sincerely,

Simon Peter M. Kinobe President – Uganda Law Society

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Upcoming Events

ULS is hosting its Annual Lawyers/ULS House Dinner on December 14 from 6pm at the Serena Hotel Kampala. This year will have three types of cards: Young Lawyers (Under 5 years of practice) at only 150,000/= each, other Advocates card at 250.000/= each and